Physiotherapy cabinet



May 6, 1947.

R. E. LlND 2,420,254

PHYSIOTHERAPY CABINET Filed Nov. 4, 1944 2 Sl'leeoS--Sheekl l lTfORNEY May 6, 1947. R. E. LIND PHYSIOTHERAPY CABINET I Filed Nov'. 4, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 irl INVENT OR. \l Kwam EMM wvo BY MAM MZ ATTE/VEY.

Patented May 6, 1947 UNI-TED STATES PATENT' ori-licei PHYSIOTHERAPY. CABINET Rudolf Emil Lind; Milwaukee, Wis.

Application November 4, 1944, Serial No.1561,902

8 Claims'. (Cl. 12S- 373) This f invention relates toimprovements in physiotherapy apparatus.

Itis a primary object of the invention tov provide novel and improved means whereby a patient may be treated withl infra-red rays, or the like, without v being subjected. tov fever conditions and without being weakened orenervated.

More-specifically, it is my purpose to provide a closed cabinet in which a patient may be wholly confined during treatment, but in which temperatures will-automatically equalize at apredeterminedvalue to keep the patient from an oppressive sence of being` overheated, I accomplish the protection of the patient and achieve comfort, despite. thepenetrating effect of the infra-red rays to which heis. subjected in the course. of treatment,. rst,A by providing. for gravity ventilation of the cabinet at a stabilized rate predetermined with referencev to the amount of sensible heat generated by the lamps and the patients body, thereby maintaining. cooling air in circulation about the patient, and, secondly, by preventing the withdrawal. of blood from the patents head or from his feet and ankles.

In this Ylatter connection, itis very important that heat be applied to the ankles and the upper surface of the feet duringtreatment, andthe invention is concerned with means for accomplishing this objective.

It is a further very important object of the invention toA provide a physiotherapy cabinet. in which a patient may be fully enclosed. for treatmentfand into'whch, notwithstanding the small and ,compact 'form of the cabinet; the patient may readily enter and emerge without assistance.

My objective with regard to the comfort and facility ofY entering. and leaving the cabineth'as to do with aspeci'c'arrangement of the'seat with reference to the iloor,A the door, and a platform on which the seat is mounted.V

Other objects will be apparent'to those skilled in the art upon analysis of the followingt disclosure of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a. cabinet embodying. my .invention in a View taken in section on the linevr I-I of Fig- 2.

Fig., 2 is aview of theimproved cabinetasit appears partially in. plan and partially broken away in horizontal section showingA the interiorof. the cabinet..

Fig. 3" is afragmentary detail view taken in section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Like partsare designated with the same reference characters throughout theseveral views.

My Vcabinet 4 is-.just `suicientlylarge to wholly receive a seated patient. In its front wall 5 there is a door opening '6 iittedf with a Ydoor 'I lhinged.' to the-wallet 8.an'd provided 'with interior and exteriorhandrails 9, t0;

The cabinet is provided with a iloor` at I5. Above theioor I5 is-a platform at I5 substantially coextensive 4withtheinterior of the cabinet excepte where it is deeply-*notched at I1 directly in' front of the door,v at whichpoint the floor I5 is exposed; The'exposedareaof the-floor I5-is separated by a partition I 8 from a chamber IS 4between the platform IS Kand the floor I5-at-the rear and sides-ofthe-cabinet. PortsfZIl-in the-side wall 2t ofthe cabinetadm-it exterior air to the cha-mber I9. A-registerZZI-.in the platform I6 is provided with a manually operablevalve 23 for regulatingrthe flowno-f exterior air from the chamber I9 into'thatportien of thev cabinet occupied bythe patient.A

Extending from. frontV to rear of the cabinet on the platform IS, on either side Vof the doorway, are. channels` 24- comprising railsfor a `wheeled seatl 25. From a position well` backin the cabinet, as shown in Figs-land 2, theseatmay move forwardly .uponitsr-rails24 to apositionI immediately adjacent the doorway. Consequently,kr with v the seat drawn forwardlyythe. patientmay seat himself thereon and; by the thrust of his feet-he may move the=seat back-into the cabinet,- carrying his body thereon.

The. cabinet space occupied by the: patient is vented npWa):elly,-y through the ports provided at 2.? (Fig. 2)'. Thus gravitycirculation may occur; subecttcthecontrol eti-the valve or damper 23;

from theintal-:el corts l through the' chamber I 8 and `register 22.and-outwardly.through .the vents 211321.-,

Sockets; preferablyotadnplex type, are provided at Llpnerand:lower'levels at 28 Yabout the side walls and back wall of the cabinet-for the treatment. of` a. patient-.occupying the-seat 25. Additional socketsaty Zv are. supported ori-the sides4 and back-portions of theV partitionv I-fwhich extends angularlyfabout the recess `provided by thenotch. vI 'l vof platform:V I 61.. The -platfornr overhangs. the'l sockets. E@ fsuiciently for thev protection. ofz the bulbsthereinr and `the the about-the'notch i? prevents then-at ,nts

`ties from directly contacting. sucnbnlbs. It will be understood-that when .the-'patient-is in the. cabinet, seateduponthe seat at 2li,A his feet will extend through the notch tl for support directiy-onthe Ifloor. I below-the level o .the plat-l form `HitV The bulbs used in the several sockets, as above described, will preferably be of the type which emanate infra-red rays in substantial quantity. A certain amount of light is also developed by such bulbs, but it is a feature of the present invention to relieve the patient of undesirable sensible overheating by the controlled circulation of air. Even without the use of the damper or valve 23, the dimensions of the ports 20, 21 may be, and preferably are, so determined that the temperature in the interior of the cabinet will not rise more than 30 above the temperature of the room in which the cabinet is placed. With the room at 75, the interior of the cabinet should stabilize itself at approximately 105. The flow of air is proportioned t the temperature differential between the cabinet and the room and any excess of temperature within the cabinet beyond the predetermined 30 differential will accelerate the ow of air, while any decrease of cabinet temperatures below the 30 differential will cause a diminution of the gravity circulation of air.

In physiotherapy cabinets of the type heretofore generally used, the cabinet has usually been apertured for the patients neck, and the patients head has been left exposed. The heating of the body and the stimulation of bodily circulation by the infra-red lamps tends to draw the blood away from the head, with the result that the patient becomes faint. Also, despite attempts to heat the feet from below, there has been a tendency to withdraw blood from the feet so that the feet remain relatively unheated. Both of these difliculties are remedied in the present device, in which the circulation of air over the patients body tends to eliminate any feeling of undue warmth and actually to maintain at a comparatively low value the temperature of the skin. Thus, notwithstanding the penetrating effects of the infra-red rays of the lamps, the patient does not feel uncomfortably warm and is not uncomfortably warm in fact,

By means of the lamps in sockets 29, which direct infra-red rays upon the blood vessels which are close to the skin in the upper surfaces of the i.

feet and in the ankles of the patient, circulation is maintained at these points much more effectively than would be possible in any attempt to heat the feet through the floor. AThus the fatigue producing effects of the ordinary physiotherapy treatment is largely avoided and a patient may be treated in this cabinet with an increase rather than a decrease of energy and without having to feel discomfort at any time. Notwithstanding these advantages, the cabinet is small enough to be acceptable in the average home. Despite its small size, the sliding seat makes it possible for the patient to be seated at the door and to rise from his seat at the door, thus facilitating entry and egress without assistance.

I claim:

1. A physiotherapy device compri-sing a cabinet having a door and a floor, in combination with a platform spaced above the iioor providing seating means and deeply notched at the door to provide a recess in which the floor is exposed to receive the patients feet, the interior of the cabinet. providing lamps for treatment, some of said lamps being located about said recess below platform level in a position for treating a patients ankles and the upper surfaces of his feet.

2. A physiotherapy cabinet provided with a door opening and a door, a substantially horizontal platform within the cabinet notched to provide adjacent the door a recess for the feet of a patient undergoing treatment, a partition extending about said recess between the platform and the bottom of the cabinet, guide rails on the platform at either side of the door opening extending from the door opening to the interior of the cabinet, a seat mounted transversely between said rails and provided with wheels operable along said rails for guiding the reciprocation of said seat to and from the door opening, said seat being wholly within the cabinet and movable to carry to and from the door opening the body of a patient seated thereon and whose feet are accommodated in said recess, and a door fitted to said opening,

3. The cabinet defined in claim 2, in which said partition i-s spaced inwardly from the margin of the platform at said recess to provide a channel opening to the recess, and radiant means disposed in said channel and overhung by said platform.

4. The device of claim 2, in which said cabinet has an air inlet below said platform, and an air outlet adjacent its top, said platform having a register provided with a manually operable valve whereby air flow through the portion of the cabinet occupied by a patient on said seat is gravity induced subject to the control of said valve.

5. The device of claim 2, in which said cabinet has an air inlet below said platform, and an air outlet adjacent its top, said platform having a register provided with a manually operable valve whereby air flow through the portion of the cabinet occupied by a patient on said seat is gravity induced subject to the control of said valve, the capacity of the inlet and outlet being calculated to maintain, subject to the control of said valve, a predetermined differential of temperature between the air within the cabinet and the exterior air.

6. The device of claim 2, in which said platform overhangs said partition about said recess, and said cabinet is provided with lamps beneath the overhanging platform in a position to illuminate a patients feet disposed Within said recess, said cabinet having an air inlet opening into said cabinet behind said partition and beneath said pltaform, and having an air outlet opening from an upper portion of the cabinet, said platform having a register affording communication and air iiow between the inlet and outlet.

7. A physiotherapy cabinet having at its front a doorway and a door movable between open and closed positions, guide means extending into the cabinet at each side of the doorway, said cabinet being provided with a floor adjacent to the doorway and below the level of the guide means and adapted to receive a patients feet, and a seat wholly supported on said guide means within the cabinet and extending transversely between the guide means and reciprocable in the cabinet to and from the doorway, said seat being adapted, when adjacent the doorway, to receive a patient seated backward thereon and to carry the body of the seated patient into the cabinet while the patients feet rest on said floor in a position which does not interfere with the patients manipulation of said door.

8. A physiotherapy cabinet having a doorway and a floor within the doorway, a platform spaced above the oor and deeply notched at the doorway to provide a recess in which the floor is exposed to receive a patients feet, guide means extending along the platform into the cabinet at each side of the doorway and a seat extending transversely between the guide means and wholly supported thereon within the cabinet for recipro- 5 cation in the cabinet to and from the doorway, UNITED STATES PATENTS said seat being adapted to receive a patient seated backward thereon and to carry the body 0f the Nluggeza Burie Junlgatelglz seated patient into thevcabinet away from the 1418903 Benson June 6 1922V doorway while the patients feet rest on said floor* 5 558394 Kellogg Apr 14 1896 1,055,794 Radford Mar. 11, 1913 RUDOLF EMIL LIND- 161,346 McClelland Mar. 30, 1875 REFERENCES CITED FOREIGN PATENTS The following references are of record in the 10 Number Country Date file of this patent: 239,556 Germany Oct. 16, 1911 

